


The Wrong Princess

by Aero



Category: MYNAME
Genre: Arranged Marriage, Band Fic, F/M, Fluff, Korean Characters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-04-29
Updated: 2017-09-04
Packaged: 2017-12-09 22:10:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,524
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/778541
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aero/pseuds/Aero
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Everyone knows the story of Cinderella: prince falls for working peasant girl, they get married, and they live happily ever after. But what if Prince Charming was already happily engaged to another princess? Will Cinderella still get her happy ending or will she remain a working peasant forever?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Once Upon A Time

The little girl stood there shaking, clutching her Cinderella doll in one hand and holding tightly onto her mom’s shirt in the other. They were standing in front of a large, white double door and were about to ring the doorbell when the door slowly opened and an elderly man in a black suit appeared and gestured for them to enter. “Mrs. Kang has been expecting you and is waiting in the drawing room,” he stated and one of the maids ushered them down the hall.

After a few moments they appeared once again in front of a set of large, white double doors. The maid knocked and then opened the door, ushering the guests behind her to follow her into the room. When they entered, a woman about the age of the girl’s mother placed a book down and stood up quickly. “Oh my, if it isn’t Shin Giyong,” the woman said, rushing up to the girl’s mom and hugging her lightly. The woman then looked down at the girl and her doll. “What’s your name, sweetheart?” she asked, crouching down in front of her.

“Seulki,” the girl muttered, shifting her weight and playing with the hem of Cinderella’s dress. Then, realizing that she forgot to bow, quickly did so.

The woman smiled and bowed back. “How old are you Seulki?” she asked. Seulki looked down at the floor and held up four fingers. The woman playfully gasped and said, “You’re four years old? Wow! You’re so cute!” Seulki blushed and smiled. The woman continued, “I’m Kang Yoonji but you can call me Mrs. Kang. It’s nice to meet you. Come, now, I want you to meet someone.”

She held out her hand for Seulki to take and Seulki looked over at her mom who nodded supportively. She took Mrs. Kang’s hand and walked behind her as she led her further into the room and into an adjacent room. “Insoo,” Mrs. Kang called out, stopping just at the entrance to the room, “Come say hello to our new maid and her daughter.”

Seulki hid behind Mrs. Kang’s legs, unsure if she wanted to see who this ‘Insoo’ person was. She heard the tiny footsteps sound throughout the room and in no time, an unfamiliar child’s face appeared from the other side of Mrs. Kang’s legs. Seulki guessed that was Insoo.

“Hi,” the boy said with a broad smile, “I’m Kang Insoo.” His voice was soft and when he smiled, his eyes became crescents. Seulki also could have sworn she saw a light shining from behind him. Insoo looked up at his mom and said, “Why isn’t she talking? Is she sick?”

Mrs. Kang looked down at Seulki and knelt down beside the two children, gently stroking Seulki’s hair. “She’s alright,” Mrs. Kang calmly explained, “she’s just shy. You’re only one year older than her so, Insoo, you need to take care of her, alright?”

Insoo nodded and tried to take Seulki’s hand but Seulki backed away from him and hugged her Cinderella doll tightly. Insoo frowned and looked sadly at his mom. Mrs. Shin then walked into the room. “Come on, Seulki, let’s go see our room,” she said. As soon as she heard her mother’s voice, Seulki ran up to her and gripped her leg, her eyes not leaving Insoo.

Mrs. Kang smiled. “I’ll see you later,” she said and waved Mrs. Shin and Seulki off.

As the two of them wandered the mansion mindlessly, Seulki looked up at the ceiling, the ground, and the walls in an attempt to take it all in but found that it was too much for her. Eventually she found herself entering a ruby room with two beds and two desks in the corners of the room. Seulki’s jaw dropped in awe at what seemed like the largest bedroom she had ever been in before.

“Seulki,” Mrs. Shin said, kneeling down in front of her daughter, “this is where we’re going to live from now on. Do you like it?” Seulki’s face transformed from wonderment to happiness in a matter of seconds and she nodded her head, clutching her Cinderella doll tighter. Mrs. Shin smiled at her daughter’s reaction and led her toward the set of beds. “Now I think it’s time for Cinderella to go to bed, alright?” she said, carefully taking the doll from Seulki’s hands.

After a while, they both then heard footsteps approaching their door and they turned around to see a new maid waiting for them in the doorway. The woman bowed to them and then said, “The mistress would like to inform you that dinner is served.”

Mrs. Shin looked at Seulki and stood up as Seulki put down her crayons and they both followed the maid into the dining room – Seulki still clinging to her mother’s shirt. As they approached the dining room, Seulki’s grip tightened and once they walked up to Mrs. Kang and Insoo, Seulki hid behind her mother’s leg.

“Please, please, sit down,” Mrs. Kang instructed, “I want to hear about everything that you’ve done since our days in college.”

Begrudgingly, Seulki let go of her mother’s shirt and sat down in the chair next to her. Food was swiftly being served to those at the table and everyone began to dig in except for Seulki who was looking down at her lap and messing with the hem of her own shirt. Insoo, who was sitting across from her, kept trying to look into her eyes and to get her attention.

“Seulki, sweetie, are you okay?” Mrs. Kang asked, suddenly noticing Seulki’s behavior.

Mrs. Shin smiled sweetly and wrapped her arms comfortingly around Seulki’s shoulders. “She’s alright, she’s just tired. Seulki, why don’t you go upstairs and go to bed. You must be tired.”

Without a sound, Seulki got up from the table and ran out of the dining room.

A few hours later, Seulki still hadn’t made it to her room. In fact, she was lost in the giant mansion and she soon found tears forming in her eyes. Suddenly, a loud crash of thunder sounded and a flash of lightning lit the strangely dark hallway. Seulki screamed and crouched down against the wall, closed her eyes tight, and tears poured down her face. “Mommy!” she called out. She waited for her mom to come and find her but no one came. “Mommy!” she screamed again. Once more, no one came.

By then, the tears were falling harder as the thunder crashed again and lightning continued to flash. Suddenly, Seulki felt a hand on her shoulder. Thinking it was her mom, she opened her eyes and was about to hug her when she noticed it wasn’t her mom; it was Insoo. Seulki immediately backed away and fell back down onto the ground.

“Are you okay?” Insoo asked, slowly approaching Seulki. Seulki backed away. The thunder boomed once more and Seulki flinched. “Are you afraid of the thunder?” he asked, crouching down to her level. Seulki nodded. Insoo smiled and reached his hand out for her to hold. “Do you like ice cream?” he asked. The tears immediately seemed to dry from Seulki’s cheeks and she nodded her head. “Come on, I know where the chef keeps all of the ice cream.”

With that, Seulki hesitantly took Insoo’s hand and he helped her up. Then, as he led her back downstairs and to the kitchen, Seulki then realized something. Insoo was just like the princes in her fairy tales. He was kind, sweet, smart, and above all, handsome – just like Cinderella’s prince.

“Ahh, here we are,” he said, letting go of her hand and going to the fridge. At the moment, he was too short to reach it so he had to jump to get the tub of ice cream from the top shelf. Eventually, he grabbed two bowls and two spoons and placed them in between the two. Seulki took no time at all in digging into the tub. Insoo laughed and began to eat some of the ice cream as well. “You really like ice cream, don’t you?” he chuckled.

Before Seulki could respond, Mrs. Shin suddenly entered the room and said, “There you are, Seulki!” Seulki looked up at her mom with a spoon still in her mouth and her lips surrounded by ice cream. “I was wondering why you weren’t in bed. Come on, let’s go. It’s late. Goodnight Insoo.”

Without protest, Seulki nodded and took the spoon out of her mouth and wiped her lips with the back of her arm then walked up to her mom. She glanced back at Insoo quickly and then looked down at her feet. “Thank you,” she mumbled and then scurried out of the room behind her mom.


	2. Under the Sea

“Seulki, come on, wake up,” a now 8-year-old Insoo cheered, shaking the sleeping 7-year-old girl awake. She yawned and rubbed her eyes and Insoo laughed as she sat up. “You look funny when you sleep,” he giggled, touching Seulki’s messy hair. Seulki blushed and swatted his hand away. “Hurry up, come on,” he continued, “My mom said that we could go to the aquarium today. Come on! Let’s go!”

She yawned one more time and slid out of bed, slightly unable to stand due to fatigue. “Where’s Cinderella?” she asked, looking around the room in a daze.

Insoo scurried over to the corner of the room and grabbed the doll from her usual resting place on the floor and handed it to the girl. “You’re so slow! Hurry up!” he said, grabbing her free hand and dragging her out of the room.

With that gesture, Seulki’s mind instantly cleared and she felt herself waking up. She loved it when her prince held her hand. His hand was soft yet firm and he held her with such protection and such guidance that she wondered if this was how the princes in her fairy tales held their princesses. Seulki smiled at the thought then walked quickly to catch up to Insoo.

A few hours later, they arrived at the aquarium and as soon as they received their tickets, Insoo ran down a hallway and stopped at a glass window that had a lot of visitors gathered around it. "Mom! Mommy! Look! A polar bear!" he cheered, bouncing up and down as the two moms and Seulki trailed slowly behind him.

Mrs. Kang and Mrs. Shin stood next to Insoo in front of the glass and admired the large white mammal. They stood there in awe for a moment until Mrs. Shin turned around to look for Seulki. “Seulki honey, don’t you want to see the polar bear?”

Seulki shook her head and stepped backwards, closer toward the fish tank on the other side. Noting what was going on behind her, Mrs. Kang turned around and walked over to Seulki. “Are you afraid of the bear, sweetie?” she asked. Seulki nodded silently. “Don’t worry. It won’t hurt you. You see that glass there? It’s there to protect you from it. As long as you see that glass, you’re safe. Okay?”

“The glass won’t protect her,” Insoo said, approaching the two of them, “I will!” Seulki chuckled but still didn’t say anything. “I’ll protect you from the bear, okay?”

He grabbed Seulki by the wrist and gently led her over to the glass where the polar bear on the other side was quickly swimming towards the glass, to the side, and then to the back of the enclosure. Every time the bear swam close to the glass, Seulki flinched and backed away. Insoo chuckled and lightly urged her closer. “Mr. Polar Bear Sir, this is Seulki,” Insoo said to the bear that simply ignored him, “She’s my very best friend in the whole wide world! Say hi Seulki.”

With a small bow, Seulki quietly said, “Hi Mr. Bear.” The bear ignored her presence and continued to swim freely in the water.

“See Seulki,” Insoo cheered proudly, “He won’t hurt you as long as I’m here to protect you!”

Mrs. Kang walked up to the two of them and coughed. “Come on children; let’s go see some other animals.”

They both cheered and ran toward the next room down the hall. As soon as they arrived, Insoo pressed his face up to the glass. “I look like that one,” he said, pointing to the shark that was freely swimming around in the tank.

“No you don’t,” Seulki giggled, also pressing her face to the glass, “You look like that one.”

“Silly, there’s nothing there!” Insoo said, looking in the general area where she was pointing.

Seulki frowned. “Is to!” she retorted, “Look!” All of the sudden, a bright orange and blue fish swam out of the coral decorations and into view. “See?” Seulki said, turning to face Insoo, “I told you a fishy was there!”

“Oh my, what a pretty fish, Seulki,” Mrs. Kang then said as she approached the two children and knelt down between them, “That fish is called a Flame Angel.”

Seulki grinned broadly at the compliment. “See Insoo,” she bragged, “It’s an angel, just like you!”

Insoo frowned and crossed his arms playfully. “But I don’t want to be a silly fish!” he whined, “I want to be a shark! They’re big and strong, like me!”

“But sharks are scary,” Seulki said, “You’re not scary.”

A devilish smirk appeared on Insoo’s face. “Sharks are scary, huh?” he said with a laugh. He held up his hands and showed his teeth in a faux-menacing way. “Roar! I’m a shark! I’m going to eat you!”

With a laugh, Seulki screamed and ran away from the Insoo-shark as he continued to chase her. The two mothers happily followed behind the children into an adjacent room that, on one side had jellyfish and on the other side housed a romp of river otters. Seulki ran into the room and climbed onto a bench that was positioned against the otter enclosure and pressed her face to the glass to get a better view of the animals.

“Insoo, look! Otters!” she cheered, pointing to the enclosure. One of the otters then dove into the water and swam up to Seulki stopping right in front of her face. Seulki giggled and looked at Insoo. “It kissed me!” she laughed.

Insoo’s face turned red and he climbed up next to Seulki on the bench and grabbed her wrist protectively. “Hey, back off! She’s mine!” he yelled at the otter. The otter just stared at him and then swam around happily in the water.

“I-I’m yours?” Seulki stuttered as she realized what Insoo had just said. He looked at her and blushed and then looked down at his feet. Seulki giggled and jumped off the bench and ran up to her mom and Insoo’s. “Mommy, look, aren’t they cute?” she said, pointing back to the otters.

Mrs. Shin knelt down to Seulki’s height and looked at the otter enclosure as Mrs. Kang reached into her purse. “Oh this is so cute, let me just take a picture,” she cheered, “Seulki, stand up on the bench with Insoo, alright?”

She stood there for a moment, unsure of what was going on and then slowly walked back up to the bench and stood on it next to Insoo. He grinned from ear to ear and pulled her closer to him. Mrs. Kang and Mrs. Shin smiled at the two of them. “Are you ready?” Mrs. Kang said, readying the camera, “One…two…”

On the count of three, Insoo turned toward Seulki and quickly kissed her cheek just as the camera flash went off leaving Seulki’s eyes wide open in surprise.


	3. Go The Distance

Insoo learned to be a grown up fast.

 

One of the telephones in the Kang mansion rang loudly one late afternoon and a maid rushed to answer it. She spoke quietly to the person on the other end of the line as to not disturb Insoo from his studies but Insoo couldn't help but glance up at the woman as soon as he heard Seulki's name. He knew Seulki's school got out later than his did since she went to a public school so he wasn't worried that she wasn't home yet. He only became worried when he saw the maid's expression turn from content to apprehensive.

 

“Oh dear,” the maid said, placing a hand over her mouth, “Thank you for letting us know. I shall inform her mother right away. Yes. Thank you. Goodbye.”

 

She looked over at Insoo and smiled sweetly but then rushed out of the room. Insoo waited a moment before following her. He knew that he would later be yelled at for neglecting his studies but he felt that Seulki was more important at that moment.

 

He quickly found the maid on the second floor inside another room approaching Mrs. Shin. Mrs. Shin shut off the vacuum she was using and turned to the maid. “Yes, what is it Young Hyeon?” the mother asked as she noted the expression on the maid's face.

 

Young Hyeon took in a deep breath and then said, “It's Seulki. We just received a call from her school's principal. He said that she ran away from school and they can't find her.”

 

Insoo's eyes widened. Seulki was missing? His Seulki was missing? His heart became heavy as he felt that he had failed her. He told her that he would always protect her. He wanted to barge into the room and beg Mrs. Shin to take him to go and look for her but something held him back: Mrs. Shin wasn't going to look for Seulki.

 

“Have you told the Mistress?” he heard her say, referring to his mom, “She needs to know about this. Send some of the security to look for her and I'll wait here and see if she comes back. We must not tell Insoo about this. Do you understand?”

 

He was planning on keeping quiet and not letting himself be known but he suddenly found himself bursting into the room, tears forming in his eyes. “Where's Seulki?” he screamed, running up to Mrs. Shin, “What happened to her? Is she hurt?”

 

Young Hyeon looked at Insoo with wide eyes and then scurried out of the room as Mrs. Shin approached Insoo with a sad smile. “Insoo, sweety, I need you to listen to me,” Insoo nodded. “Seulki left school without permission and we can't find her. I need you to do me a favor, okay?” Again, he nodded. “Do you remember when you were taught how to answer the phone? I need you to stay by the phone and answer it if it rings, alright?”

 

“Is Seulki okay?” he asked.

 

Mrs. Shin nodded and patted him on the head. “She'll be alright. Now go wait by the phone, alright and let me know if something happens?”

 

Insoo nodded faithfully and ran out of the room and back into the study room and anxiously sat by the phone. He sat there patiently for roughly twenty minutes before he began to get antsy and started to pace the room. Thirty minutes after that, the phone rang and Insoo quickly ran over to it and picked it up. “Seulki?” he yelled into the phone, disposing of all of the manners he had previously learned.

 

The person on the other end was stunned for a moment before he regained his composure. “Uh, no, this is the Seoul National Aquarium. Is there an adult in the area that I may speak to?”

 

“Mrs. Shin! Mrs. Shin!” Insoo yelled part into the receiver and into the house, “Someone's on the phone!”

 

A moment later, Mrs. Shin's voice appeared on the line. “Hello, this is Shin Giyong speaking.”

 

“Yes, Mrs. Shin, we have a little girl here at the aquarium – we don't know how she got in – but she's crying nonstop and disturbing some of our guests. He had a ID on her backpack that said to call this number if there were any problems. Do you know of a little girl with such identification?”

 

“That's Seulki!” Insoo yelled, forgetting that the others thought he had hung up already. “Is she okay? I need to make sure she's alright!”

 

Mrs. Shin sighed, half with a laugh and half with relief. “Insoo calm down. We'll go and get her, okay? Thank you very much, sir. We'll be there in a moment.”

 

“You're welcome. Good day,” the man said and then hung up the phone.

 

Immediately, Insoo slammed the phone down and ran around the house until he found Mrs. Shin. “Come on! Come on! Come on! Hurry! We have to go get Seulki! Come on! Let's go!” He grabbed Mrs. Shin's arm and pulled her toward the front door without letting her prepare. Noting how worried he was over her daughter, she didn't complain and hurried up her pace.

 

In the car, Insoo couldn't sit still. He kept looking out the window and over at Mrs. Shin in hopes that she'd drive faster. In only a matter of minutes, they had arrived at the aquarium and before Mrs. Shin could even unbuckle her seat belt, Insoo was already out of the car and encouraging Mrs. Shin to move faster and once she was out, he grabbed her arm tightly and dragged her into the aquarium.

 

When they arrived at the ticket counter, Mrs. Shin had to force Insoo to stop running and looked at the man behind the desk. “Hi there, we received a call about my daughter, Seulki.” Mrs. Shin said to him. He nodded understandingly and let them through without hesitation and Insoo let go of Mrs. Shin's arm and ran freely through the aquarium.

 

“Seulki!” Insoo cried out, looking for his best friend. With each step he became more and more discouraged until he saw a familiar figure curled up on the bench in front of the otter enclosure. His face brightened. “Seulki! I found you!” he cheered, causing Mrs. Shin to begin to move in his direction toward her daughter.

 

She looked up at him with red eyes and then moved away from him, crying harder into her lap. “Seulki, dear,” Mrs. Shin said, running up to Seulki.

 

Looking up again, she uncurled herself and ran toward her mom. “Mommy!” she cried out and embraced her mother tightly, begging her mom to carry her.

 

Insoo approached the two and felt dejected. Seulki didn't need him. Seulki didn't want him. As they headed out of the aquarium, he tried to look at her and try to get her attention but she always turned her face the other way. Only when he touched her gently did she finally speak to him. “Go away! I don't like you!” she yelled, fully burying her face in her mom's chest.

 

With that, Insoo's whole world seemed to shatter. He felt like crying. He felt like giving up. He had gone on this long search for his best friend and was worried so much for her safety and she rejected him like that. He stayed quiet for the whole ride home.

 

A few hours later, Insoo was back in the study room trying to do his homework but having troubles. It wasn't that it was difficult, it was that he was distracted. All he could think about was Seulki and how she didn't like him anymore. What did he do wrong? Did he say something wrong? Did he touch a boo-boo that she had? He didn't know.

 

“Insoo,” a soft voice suddenly called out to him. He looked over at the door to find Mrs. Shin entering the room with Seulki trailing behind her. “Seulki has something that she wants to say to you.”

 

He looked at his friend whose eyes were red and puffy but waited for her to make the first move. Mrs. Shin slowly left the two of them alone and Seulki stayed by the door, not moving. It took her a minute to compose herself before she said, “I'm sorry I scared you.” Insoo's face softened. “And, I didn't mean what I said. You're my best friend.”

 

“Why were you crying?” he asked her, still not moving from his spot, “Did something bad happen at school? What's wrong?” Seulki didn't answer and it looked like she was on the verge of crying again. Insoo's face softened. “It's okay,” he said, “You don't have to tell me.”

 

Seulki looked up at him and suddenly ran into his arms and began to cry into his shoulder. He was sad that she was sad but he was happy because she didn't hate him. He wrapped his arms around her body and hugged her tightly and then said, “Will cookies make you feel better?” At the sound of the word 'cookies', her tears seemed to dry instantly and she shook her head feverishly. Insoo giggled and ruffled her hair. “Well come on. Mommy bought chocolate chip cookies; your favorite!”

 

This time, Seulki was the one to lead Insoo. She grabbed his arm and bolted out of the room. For now, he didn't have to worry about his Cinderella.


	4. You'll Be In My Heart

Insoo’s father was home and Insoo was scared. His father wasn’t violent or scary or anything, it was just that his father was only home on very important occasions. It wasn’t Christmas, Valentine’s Day, or even his birthday so he was very confused. At this time, Insoo was ten years old and he could count on one hand the number of times his father had returned home when it wasn’t a holiday or birthday. Being the CEO of an airlines company certainly took its toll on the whole family.

 

He was playing in his room with Seulki that evening when Insoo’s father suddenly walked into the room, a grim look on his face. “Insoo, Seulki,” he said, “Come with me.”

 

The two children silently looked at each other and put their toys down, following Mr. Kang out of the room. Seulki could sense the tension throughout the house and she didn’t like it. Neither she nor Insoo knew what was going on but they both knew something bad was happening. She glanced over at her friend and held tightly onto his hand, trying to give him as much support as she could.

 

In a few moments, they stopped in front of what Seulki recognized as Mrs. Kang’s bedroom and she squeezed Insoo’s hand tighter. Mr. Kang took in a deep breath before opening the door and gesturing the children inside. The first thing they noticed was a pale Mrs. Kang lying in the bed with Seulki’s mom sitting there with her. The sight frightened her and Seulki tried to hold back her tears.

 

Mrs. Kang smile weakly and held her hand out for the two children and beckoned them to come closer to her. They waited a moment before approaching her but when they did, she gently stroked each of their cheeks. “Mommy,” Insoo said weakly, “What’s wrong? Are you sick? Will you get better so we can go the aquarium again?”

 

It was Mrs. Shin who spoke this time. “Insoo, your mom has been very sick lately,” she explained softly, “There’s nothing much we can do. Do you remember what happened when your turtle died last year?” Insoo wanted to answer but tears were already streaming down his face as he braced himself for what was coming. Mrs. Shin continued, “Well, Insoo, sweetie, the same thing is happening to your mommy. Insoo, I don’t want to have to say this but your mom has pneumonia and may not survive the night.”

 

With that, Insoo began to bawl. He knelt down on the floor and put his head in his hands. Seulki stood there, wanting to comfort him but couldn’t because she was crying too. “Insoo, Seulki” Mrs. Kang weakly said, “I need you two to listen, okay?” They both looked at her. Mrs. Kang nodded to Mrs. Shin and Mrs. Shin got up to retrieve something from the other side of the room and sat back down on the bed.

 

“Insoo,” Mrs. Kang said again, grabbing Insoo’s hand and pulling him toward her. At once, he threw his arms around his mother and hugged her tightly, unwilling to let her go. She let her son cry for a few minutes before letting him go and grabbing something from Mrs. Shin’s hands. “Insoo, this is for you.” She opened her hands to reveal a necklace with two gold rings on it. It took a moment for him to realize what it was but then he gasped: it was her wedding band and engagement ring. Mrs. Kang smiled, “When you get older and want to marry someone, you can give these to her so she knows that you love her.”

 

She put the necklace around his neck and he nodded, wiping the tears off of his face, trying to be a brave man but failing. Mrs. Kang then reached her arm out for Seulki and Seulki walked up to her. “Seulki, I am very blessed to have met you. I want to let you know that you will always be under the protection of this family and so I want to give you this.” She reached her hand out once again but this time Mrs. Shin handed her a wooden box. As Mrs. Kang gave it to Seulki, she tried to open it but Mrs. Kang’s hand told her to stop. “Promise me that you won’t open this until you’re older and until your mom says you can, okay?”

 

Seulki nodded and held the box close to her. Mrs. Kang looked at the two children once more before coughing a few times. “I love you two very much,” she said with a smile.

 

With that, Insoo’s dad approached the two children and tried to usher them out of the room but Insoo began to cry and scream for his mom. Seulki frowned. She hated seeing her prince cry and she walked up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. At first he ignored her but then she said, “Insoo, come on, we should go.” He then turned around and hugged Seulki tightly as Mrs. Kang began to cough more violently.

 

“Come on children,” Mr. Kang said and urged another maid to walk out of the room with them. The two children waited outside for what seemed like ages until both Mrs. Shin and Mr. Kang quietly came out of the room with solemn expressions on their faces. Mrs. Shin looked at the two of them before wiping a tear from her face and shaking her head.

 

Insoo and Seulki ran up to Mrs. Shin and held her tightly, wanting a mother’s love from anyone they could at the moment. Mr. Kang then walked up to Insoo and knelt down beside him and Insoo switched his attention to his father and hugged him while crying on his shoulder. “Come on, son, let’s go to bed,” he said after a few minutes.

 

“You too, Seulki,” Mrs. Shin added and they waited until the two children had calmed down enough to lead them their separate ways and to their respective bedrooms.

 

Seulki had been lying in bed for quite some time, unable to sleep when she heard a quiet knock on her door. Before she could say or do anything, the door opened and Insoo’s head popped into the room, his eyes red and puffy. He entered and quietly shut the door behind him then scurried over to the side of Seulki’s bed. “Seulki,” he whispered, gently nudging her arm, “are you awake?”

 

“Yeah,” she replied, sitting up. She could still see tears forming in his eyes and falling down his face and Seulki wiped them away with her thumb. “Are you okay?” she whispered, knowing that if she spoke too loudly, she’d wake up the other maids and she’d get in trouble.

 

Insoo shook his head and wiped some tears away himself. “Can I sleep with you tonight?” he asked, looking up at her. Without a word, Seulki scooted over in her bed and let Insoo climb up and get under the covers with her.

 

When he got comfortable, she wrapped her arms around him and let him cry into her chest. “It’s okay,” she whispered, petting his hair like he always did for her when she was upset, “Don’t worry. It’ll be alright. Don’t worry. I’ll protect you for now.”

 

It was then that she noticed that his hands were cupped around the necklace that his mother had given him and he was holding it close to himself, hugging it. Seulki began to wonder what was in her box that Mrs. Kang had given her that was placed on a high shelf in her room. Insoo sniffled and his body began to shake. “I miss my mommy,” he cried, scooting closer to Seulki.

 

A tear fell down Seulki’s face. “I miss her too,” she replied, “But you can share my mommy with me. I don’t mind.” Insoo nodded and wrapped his arms around his friend and pulled her into a tight hug. They stayed like that for a long time until both of them fell asleep.


End file.
